Apostrophe | Seven Things to Know

The following explanation is general guidance on how to use apostrophe “s” and the use of “of” as ownership.

We normally use ‘s when the first noun is a person or an animal. Let’s see the following examples :

1. the Manager’s office (not ‘ the office of the manager’)
2. Mr. Evans’s daughter
3. the horse’s tail
4. a policeman’s hat

When the first noun is a thing, we normally use … of …. Let’s see the following example :

1. the door of the room ( not the room’s door)
2. the beginning of the story ( not ‘the story ‘s beginning’)

We can usually use ‘s when the first noun is an  organization (= a group

of people).  Let’s see the following example :

1. the government’s decision       or         the decision of the government
2. the company’s Success           or         the success of the company

We can also use ‘s with places. Let’s see the following example :

1. the city’s new train station
2. the world’s problem
3. Indonesia’s system of government
4. Russia’s largest city

After a singular noun we use ‘s. Also, after a plural noun (which ends in -s) we use only an apostrophe(‘). Let’s see the following example :

1. my sister’s room (one sister)
2. my sisters’ room (more than one sister)
3. Mr. Brown’s house
4. the browns’ house (Mr. and Mrs. Brown)

If a plural noun  does not end in -s, we use ‘s :

1. a children’s book

We  can also  use ‘s after more than one noun. Let’s see the following example :

1. John and Yoko’s wedding
2. Mr and Mrs Brown’s house

We also use ‘s after time words, such as tomorrow, today, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.  Let’s see the following examples :

1. Sunday’s newspapers
2. Today’s meeting
3. a week’s honeymoon

Choose ‘s or of  to join these following two nouns !

1. the iPad | Jack   ……………………………..
2. the ears | the dog …………………………..
3. the top  | the page …………………………
4. the son  | Mr Green ………………………….
5. the toys | the children ………………………
6. the newspaper | yesterday ……………….
7. the economic policy | the government ……
8. the house | my aunt and uncle ……………
9. the children | Mick and Susan …………….
10. the first floor | the building ………………..

Exercise II

Answer the following questions.

1. What is the earth’s natural satellite?
2. What are the mirrors on the left and the right of the car called?
3. An elephant ……………………………..is the most expensive part that people hunt.
4. A snake …………………………. can kill people in minutes because it goes into the circulation of the blood.
5. Can you tell us what a calf is?